


Airports and cancelled tours

by Rosetylars



Series: Cricverse [46]
Category: Cricket RPF, Sports RPF
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:28:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29710260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosetylars/pseuds/Rosetylars
Summary: Kane and Kez enjoy a week together between the BBL and the NZ white ball tour.
Relationships: Alex Carey/Kane Richardson, Marcus Stoinis/Adam Zampa, mentions of
Series: Cricverse [46]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1755766
Kudos: 10





	Airports and cancelled tours

**Author's Note:**

> Late January - Early February, 2021

The Renegades’ season finished on Australia Day, since they were struggling at the bottom of the ladder, and didn’t qualify for finals. Kane returned to Adelaide, while Kez and the Strikers headed to Brisbane for an elimination final against the Heat.

The news came through the following day about squad selection for the upcoming T20 tour of New Zealand, and Test tour of South Africa. Kane was just cleaning up after breakfast when Kez called him.

“Good morning, beautiful,” Kane answered.

Kez chuckled into the phone. “You’re the beautiful one,” he said breathlessly. “I have news.”

Kane’s heart rate tripled. Could Kez have had a selection call already, so early in the day?

“What is it?” Kane asked with baited breath.

“Trevor called,” Kez replied. “I’m going to South Africa.” He was trying to tone down his excitement by saying something about only being injury cover for Tim, because Wadey was going to New Zealand, but Kane barely heard over the thumping of his heart.

“Oh my god, baby,” Kane said gently. “Congratulations! I am _so_ proud of you. You deserve this!”

Kez chuckled breathlessly into the phone. “Thank you. I can’t believe it."

They spoke at length, until Kez had to head off for an early training session. Kez left Kane by telling him that he was sure Kane would get a selection call, too.

Kez was right, as he usually was - Kane received a phone call later that afternoon, inviting him to the T20 squad to tour New Zealand.

*

The following morning, Kane received a message in the Aussie group chat from Adam and Marcus, showcasing their engagement rings.

As soon as he saw it, he was about to call Kez - but his phone lit up with a call from Kez, first.

Kez didn’t even say hello. “Oh my god, did you see-“

“I did!” Kane confirmed. “Our Adsy is growing up.”

Kez chuckled warmly. “I can’t believe they’re _engaged_. They’re going to have a wedding. Adam _there’s no such thing as real love_ Zampa is getting married.”

Kane could hear the warmth in his boyfriend’s voice, and it made him smile. “He never believed that for a second.”

“Maybe he did, until he met Marcus,” Kez mused. “Must’ve seen that tanned skin and all those muscles and realised love might actually exist.”

Kane huffed a laugh. “Careful with who you’re talking to, Kezza.”

Kez rolled his eyes, though Kane couldn’t tell through the phone. “I thought you two had finally gotten over your issues,” Kez said, a playful lilt to his voice.

“We never had issues!”

“Mhm, whatever you say,” Kez chuckled. “I’m so happy for them. I’ll ring Zamps now.”

“Give him my love?”

“Of course.”

*

In Kez’s elimination final, the Heat were too strong with a loud Gabba crowd behind them. He was heartbroken, but that also meant a bit of extra time at home before Kane headed off to New Zealand the following weekend.

When Kez saw Kane’s familiar car pull up at the airport, he melted.

Kane got out of the car to help Kez with his bags, but he got sidetracked wrapping Kez up in his arms and kissing him.

“Hello, beautiful,” Kane said, taking in the sight of Kez in his black Strikers polo, fitted in the shoulders, looser around his waist like all of his clothes fit him.

Kez grinned, reaching up to tuck a longer chunk of Kane’s hair behind his ear.

“You’ve had a haircut,” Kez noticed.

Kane pecked his cheek, lifting some of his luggage off of the trolley.

“Just a trim,” Kane replied, lifting a kit bag into the boot. “The hairdresser was kind of flirty, so I told her my boyfriend likes my hair long, and that took care of that.”

Kez laughed warmly, lifting the final bag into the boot.

“You’re terrible, Kane.”

“Hey, I didn’t tell her you like to pull on it,” Kane replied, hands raised in innocence. “ _That_ would have been too far.”

Kez laughed, shutting the boot and heading over to return his trolley before getting into the car.

*

When they got home, Kez flopped down on their bed, grateful for the soft mattress and comfy bedding after spending most of the last five months in hotels, only coming home for a couple of weeks here and there between the Australian white ball tour of the UK, the IPL, the home white ball series against India, and the BBL.

“This mattress is heaven,” Kez declared, eyes closed.

Kane pulled all of Kez’s luggage into the bedroom to unpack later before joining Kez on the bed, laying down on his side beside him.

“That was your excuse for coming to stay here all the time, before we were together,” Kane teased.

Kez laughed, teasing, “Was all the sex in return not enough for you?”

Kane shook his head fondly. “You’re terrible.”

Kez didn’t reply - instead, he lifted himself up on an elbow, catching Kane’s lips in a kiss. Kane lifted a hand to Kez’s jaw, holding him close, melting into the kiss. They both got lost in it, the kiss deepening, tongues meeting for the first time in weeks.

The kiss was slow and leisurely, reconnecting after their time apart.

When they separated, Kane gently pulled Kez to lay against his chest, appreciating being close to one another without worrying about heading to training sessions, meetings or matches, for a change.

They had been able to stay at home together for a few days when the Strikers and Renegades were in Adelaide, in early January. Kane was a bit embarrassed when he thought back to the two matches the teams had played against one another, because he and Matt Renshaw had exchanged a few choice words. (Kez had pulled Matt aside for a few words after a pointed _Fuck you, Richo -_ one of the very few times Kez’s loyalties, as a captain and a boyfriend, had been tested. Kez had simply told the Queenslander that it was a bad look for the team, to pick fights like that, especially when they were winning... though everyone seemed to know it was a little bit more personal than that.)

Now, though, they had an entire week to enjoy together before Kane was heading to New Zealand. The flight was scheduled for the following Sunday, but the South Africa tour was more uncertain - normally, tours were planned down to the minute, months in advance. Naturally, the pandemic had made everything more uncertain, but even in these times, Kez had a bad feeling that the lack of a plan meant something.

As they laid on the bed together, just enjoying each other’s company, Kez brought it up.

“I don’t see the South Africa tour happening,” he mused.

Kane pulled a face, looking at Kez with surprise. “What? What do you mean?”

Kez shrugged, looking at the ceiling. “Like, surely we’d at least have a date to fly out by now. They told you the date of your flight when they called you for selection, right?”

“Well, yeah, but New Zealand is a lot easier to get to right now than South Africa. They're probably just sorting out logistics and details,” Kane replied.

Kez nodded, hoping Kane was right.

*

They tried to put it to the back of their minds, and just enjoy their time together. Kane was going to put a load of washing on, the night Kez came home, to wash some of the clothes Kez had had in his luggage, but Kez talked him out of it.

They ended up going to a restaurant in the city for dinner, and Kez declared it was a date night. They both wore shirts for the occasion - Kez wore a short sleeved, navy shirt with a floral pattern, with a few buttons left undone at the neck. Kane went with a white shirt, and no undershirt - and Kez couldn’t stop looking at the dark outline of all of Kane’s tattoos, through the material. Kane was wearing a silver chain that Kez had given him for their first official anniversary, in July the previous year.

“You’re staring,” Kane smiled over the rim of his beer glass, after they had ordered dinner.

Kez shrugged. “You’re pretty to look at,” he replied.

“You can talk,” Kane chuckled, tracing his foot along Kez’s calf under the table.

Kez shook his head, grinning.

*

Waking up together was a luxury that they were both grateful for. Kez woke up with Kane curled around his back, a tattooed arm around his waist. When Kane’s hair was a bit longer, Kez had used to wake up with some of it in his mouth or up his nose, so he was half grateful that wasn’t the case, today.

Kez felt Kane’s body wake up slightly earlier than Kane did. Unable to help himself, he wiggled his hips against Kane’s, and Kane woke up with a soft groan.

“What’re you doing, babe?” Kane mumbled sleepily.

“Nothing,” Kez replied cheekily, not ceasing his movements.

Kane made a low hum of approval, kissing the back of Kez’s neck in the way that never failed to drive the younger man wild.

Kez leant into the touch, shifting his head to allow Kane more access.

As it turned out, they ended up having quite a late breakfast. Neither of them cared in the slightest.

*

On Tuesday, a few days after Kez got home, the news came out that the tour of South Africa would be postponed indefinitely.

Despite expecting it, the news was still devastating, and Kez was heartbroken. His dream of joining the Test squad was going to have to wait, a little bit longer.

He tried to hide his disappointment from Kane, but Kane could feel it.

The news had trickled through in the Aussie group chat that morning, already, but when the official email came through from Cricket Australia, just before the news was leaked to the media, Kez flopped down to the couch, feeling a bit empty.

Kane made him a coffee and sat down beside him, encouraging Kez’s head into his lap. Kane put something mindless on TV, and they sat wordlessly until Kez was ready to talk about it.

“I shouldn’t be so disappointed when I expected this to happen,” Kez mumbled, sitting up in a half crunch position just to sip his coffee, which had been perched precariously on the floor in front of the couch.

When Kez laid back down, Kane ran a hand through his hair, appreciating the way the golden curls sprung back when his hand stopped disturbing them.

“Of course it’s okay to be disappointed, baby,” Kane murmured. “Test selection is a huge deal. But none of this is your fault. If CA think it’s unsafe, you’re better off here, dominating Shield,” he said gently.

Kez gave him half a smile, at that, teasing, “What’s the point of playing Shield if you’re not here to kiss me in the showers?”

Kane laughed warmly. “A question I asked myself multiple times, in October,” he returned. “But seriously. The tour will go ahead one day, when it’s safer, and you’ll be there for that, too.”

Kez met his eyes. “You believe that?”

“Of course I do,” Kane said gently. “You’re good enough to make a huge impact at Test level. I’ve believed that for a long time, and I was proven right when you got that phone call.”

Kez chuckled. “I love my humble boyfriend. He never gloats when he’s right,” he deadpanned.

Kane threw his head back with laughter.

They spent the rest of the afternoon just lazing around together, and within a couple of hours, Kane had helped Kez forget all about the disappointment of the tour’s cancellation.

*

Kane still had to leave at the end of the week, though he was trying to put off his packing as long as possible - half so that he didn’t remind Kez about his own tour not going ahead, and half so that he didn’t acknowledge that they were going to be spending time apart, again.

But when it got to the day before the flight, Kez cracked.

“Are you planning on taking anything to New Zealand, or are you just gonna rely on borrowing stuff from everyone else?”

Kane laughed. “Can’t I put it off a bit longer?”

“Any longer and you’ll be carrying spare underwear in your hands, on the flight. Wouldn’t that be a bit embarrassing?” Kez deadpanned.

Kane couldn’t fight a smile at the mental picture. “Fine,” he agreed.

“Need help?” Kez asked.

Kane gave him a grateful look. “Please?”

Kez rolled his eyes fondly, taking Kane’s hand and leading him towards their bedroom.

*

When the time came for Kez to drop Kane at the airport, Kane couldn’t help the ache in his chest. Their week together had been heaven.

Kez helped Kane unload all of his luggage from the car, stacking them on a trolley.

When Kane was all sorted, he pulled Kez into a tight hug, kissing him chastely.

“I love you, Kezza. I’m gonna miss you so much.”

Kez made a sad noise, kissing Kane again. “I’m gonna miss you more. I hope the quarantine is okay.”

Kane nodded, sighing.

“Call me whenever you want to,” Kez continued. “I don’t care what time.”

“Thank you,” Kane replied.

“Love you,” Kez said gently, kissing Kane for the final time. He smoothed out the collar of Kane’s travel polo, then brushed some stray hair out of his face.

As Kane headed for the terminal, he turned to look back at Kez, and Kez was watching after him. They shared a grin, and Kez blew him a kiss. With that, Kane headed inside, ready for the tour.


End file.
